


Hold Me Tight My True Love

by czar_feline



Category: GOT7, JJ Project
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-14
Updated: 2016-02-23
Packaged: 2018-05-20 10:14:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6002116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/czar_feline/pseuds/czar_feline
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jinyoung has been waiting for his Mr. Right, but he keeps meeting the wrong people. One night Jaebum bumped into him, breaking his phone, maybe breaking into his heart as well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: Language. Age gap.  
> Disclaimer: Dalja's Spring verse. The plot and the scenes are almost the same, but since this is still a work in progress, I might change some of it.

 

 

 

 

 

It had been a tiring day for Jinyoung, work was same as usual, but his heart wasn't. He wipes his tears as he makes his way inside his apartment, locking it after. Seven years? Or has it been eight years since he first moved here?

 

Few years after college, Jinyoung managed to find a job in the heart of Seoul. He found himself another home in Waves.com. It's an online media company producing varying forms of arts. Jinyoung started humbly as a Junior Production assistant; slowly but surely he made his way to the top. It had been eight years since then.

 

He glances around, recalling his first nights alone in the apartment. Unconsciously, it made him tear up more. With what happened earlier, his desire to go home to his mother's house is stronger than ever. Times like this, Jinyoung misses her and his sisters the most.

 

He walks towards the fridge and gives himself a glass of cold water, wishing it could wash away the clog in his chest. 'Damn you, Jackson Wang.' He whispers to himself as he wipes his cheeks again. 'Damn you, Mark Tuan.'

 

 

 

Letting out a loud cry, he bangs his head on his dining table, hissing afterward. Apparently, his supposed boyfriend, Jackson, is two-timing him with Mark, with The Mark. Mark Tuan, Mark fucking Tuan, Waves' most popular personality. The guy who is every netizens' favorite personality.

 

Also, the guy who is secretly always getting on his nerves. Well, Mark may be popular, he may be Waves' most sought after celebrity, but Jinyoung is the Head Producer. If it weren't for Jinyoung's writing and managing craft, Mark wouldn't be as he is today. But darn it! The guy has the audacity to sass him whenever he pleases.

 

Thinking of it again, Jinyoung bangs his head and hands, almost knocking his glass. "Where did that fucking asswipe got the guts to cheat!?" He yells to himself, throwing a tantrum like a kid that definitely he isn't.

 

 

 

 

 

"Why does he think it's still cool to cheat!? What is he a twenty-something fresh lad? For crying out loud, he's already thirty-three years old!" A while ago, Jinyoung's still on the couch, but with the current state of his emotion, he somehow ends up lying helplessly on the floor.

 

Upon realizing what he has just said, he giggles and opens another bag of chips. Stress eating, it is. "Aigoo, Jinyoungie, talking like you aren't the same age with that cheating rag." He tells himself and hopes his mother won't call this week to pester him for marriage.

 

Then, he tears up again, kicking the air with frustration and rolling around the floor. If he were honest, he really thought Jackson was finally his destiny, the one he has been waiting for. He thought it was finally the spring of his life. He thought it was finally his time to get married. But no. Unfortunately, or is it fortunately?

 

 

As soon as he finished murdering the poor chips, he quickly runs towards his kitchen to get more. "Aigooo." He whispers to himself, scanning the insides of his empty refrigerator. He sighs and plays with the light inside, closing and opening the door. Then, he stands up straight and finally closed the door.

 

"Desperate times call for desperate measures." He mumbles and quickly makes a detour to his room, grabbing his coat and his wallet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since it is winter, it's still cold and snowy outside. And for some reasons, the people haven't taken down their Christmas lights yet. It is still somehow still festive outside, numerous couples passing around Jinyoung. He sighs and tries not to look at any of them, avoiding eye contacts and mostly avoiding sending looks.

 

If only Jackson didn't cheat on him, they could be them. They could be there, walking hand in hand, whispering sweet nothings, ignoring the world. Just like the people around them. He then wakes up from his trance when his phone starts ringing. 

 

Sighing for the nth time, he takes his phone from his pocket- almost hesitantly. Before he could even see the caller is, he hears a loud, "Get out of my way!" Then, his phone meets the ground as he gets knocked by a running guy. Everything goes slow when he sees a small crack growing onto his iPhone's screen. "Nooooooooo!" He yells as loud as he can and the shattering is almost as fast as his heart.

 

"Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Oh, shit No." mumbling to himself, he picks his phone and sees the damage through his own eyes. "Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" He then yells again, looking towards the direction of the guy who bumped him earlier. "You insolent brat! You broke my phone! Shouldn’t you, at least, say sorry!?" And before he loses sight of the guy, he goes after him.

 

Immediately after they went farther from where they were earlier, unluckily Jinyoung lost the guy. He looks around and realizes that he reached an unfamiliar building. Probably a recently abandoned place, but instead of walking away, he trudges in deeper. The place is eerie as hell, not to mention wandering inside during the night.

 

But there's one thing that everyone should know about Jinyoung. He has a brave heart, well, at least, when it comes to these things.

 

Then he hears a slight moving coming from one of the empty rooms. "Ahhh. Come on, show yourself. Face me and be a man. Pay for my phone." He says slowly, matching his pace, but before he could peek inside the room, he gets pulled inside.

 

With the abrupt force of being pushed onto the wall and a hand on his mouth, his eyes widen. 'Fuck.' he says in his mind. There is a young man, not too young but definitely much younger than him, in front of him. He’s only slightly taller than him, but he’s definitely thicker and more built than Jinyoung. His eyes are sharp and his jaws are clenched tight. He’s not looking at Jinyoung; he’s looking out, like he's hiding from someone.

 

 

 

'Oh my, is this the end of me? Am I going to die here? Am I going to die with a broken heart? Am I going to die a virgin? Am I going to die without meeting my Mr. Right?' He continuously asks himself as the guy starts pressing himself onto him. 'Oh, shit. What is he gonna do? Oh, shit. Oh, shit.' The guy then starts roaming his free hand on Jinyoung's hips.

 

'Fuuuuuuuccckk! Is he going to do something nasty to me? If I had known, I would have allowed Jackson to do it first!' The guy keeps his eyes out and his hand inside Jinyoung's back pocket, taking the wallet along. Jinyoung's could do nothing but look at the guy who opens the wallet, seemingly like he’s reading something.

 

The guy then sighs and lets Jinyoung go, giving his wallet back to him. "Uhh, hey, I'm sorry; I had to check if you were with them." Now that Jinyoung realizes it, the guy had some goons following him a while ago. "And I'm also sorry for breaking your phone, uhh." He takes out a small rectangular paper from his pocket, handing it to Jinyoung.

 

"I'll pay you once you get it fixed." Jinyoung stares back at him and he can only nod since he is still shaking. When he's about to move away and take the card from the guy's hand, the latter then encases him on the wall again. Jinyoung's breath hitches up but the guy is smiling cheekily at him.

 

"You look sad. Do you have a boyfriend or a girlfriend? Do you need someone to accompany you during get-togethers? Do you need someone to make your night more bearable? Do you need someone to show off your ex-boyfriends or girlfriends? If that's what you're looking for then I am at your service. Forty dollars for five hours. Basic skinship like holding hands and placing my arm around your shoulder are free of charge. But hugging is seventy-five dollars and kissing is ninety dollars."

 

Even though the substance of what the guy said was a pure trash, Jinyoung can't help but point out how eloquent the guy is. "By the way, I'm Im Jaebum." The guy, Jaebum, pushes himself away from Jinyoung and tucks his calling card into the pocket of the latter's coat. Jinyoung nods and starts to walk away, walking briskly, trying to flee from the guy as soon as possible.

 

After hearing that the guy is following him, Jinyoung turns around and tries to hit the guy. Sure, his days spent in the library paid off when he started working, but it also has its downsides. Also, growing up with a mother and two older sisters, no one really taught him how to punch. But it doesn't mean he doesn't know how to slap and pull someone's hair in a way that it would leave his enemy either hairless or with a throbbing scalp. Or kick an aggressor's shin.

 

Jinyoung tries to hit the guy as much as he can, slapping and kicking all at once. "Ouch! Ouch! What did I do to you?" Jaebum replies. He is shielding himself instead of hitting back, mainly because Jinyoung isn't really hurting him. "You insolent brat! You stupid escort! You scared me! I thought- I thought-" Jinyoung can't bring himself to finish his sentence especially after seeing the young brat smirking at him.

 

"Excuse you, Ahjusshi! I may be working as a freelancer at a dating agency, or as you call it, escort, but I'm sorry, I have my type." Jaebum cockily says, automatically making Jinyoung's eye widen. And before Jinyoung can throw a comeback, Jaebum walks past him and runs off, leaving him inside the old building.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, Jinyoung wonders if his night can get any worse. Ten minutes inside the Italian Restaurant he chose while waiting for his order, Jackson and Mark come in. "Oh, hey! Jinyoung! What are you doing here?" Jackson, despite being still a little far from him, calls him. "Are you with someone?" he asks again, then, Mark stops beside Jackson, looking at him with a mocking smile on his face.

 

Jinyoung smiles as a reply and motions his hands in whatever movement. Mark scoffs then walks away from them, Jackson's eyes immediately follow him, like he's a total love fool. "Ahh, Jinyoung, about this. I'm not cheating on you." Jackson says even without looking at Jinyoung's eyes.

 

'You fucker! If this isn't cheating what is this? You stupid fuck!' he yells in his mind, but he only smiles at Jackson, asking him to continue. "It's just that, we never really work. And what's the point of staying in a relationship if we know we'll never get anywhere?" Jackson turns to look at him, giving him an innocent smile that he wants to wipe.

 

"Enjoy your date then." Jackson waves at him and leaves him, leaves his broken heart and insulted pride. As soon as Jackson is far from him, Jinyoung takes out his phone but cringes immediately after seeing the screen. Even so, he dials the number of the only person who can help him.

 

"Hello? Wooyoung hyung! Hello?" Jinyoung says with a hushed voice when his friend picked up the call. "What?" comes a surprised reply. "Wooyoung hyung! Wooyoung hyuuuung!!! Please help me!" Jinyoung glances at Jackson and Mark's table, he really wants to throw the almost empty bowl from the other table to their direction.

 

"What happened? Are you okay?" Worry is evident in Wooyoung's voice. "Do you know someone who can pretend as my date tonight?" Jinyoung replies fast, his words tumbling one another. "What!?" He hears Wooyoung sighing on the other line. Probably he was worried because he thought something bad happened to him, but not really.

 

"Jackson and Mark are here in this Italian Restaurant I'm in! Jackson thought I am on a date, but I have no one with me." He offers his explanation but even though he can't really see his face, he knows Wooyoung is pissed. "I really have no one, Jinyoung-ah, I'm married and the only guy I know is my husband."

 

Jinyoung sighs, but he isn't one to give up just like that. "Please, Wooyoung hyung! Please!" Wooyoung sighs again and then Jinyoung hears Nichkhun's voice on the line, asking his husband what's the problem. "Khun and I are baking cupcakes for his niece's birthday party so we are currently busy. Call me again tomorrow okay?" Then, Wooyoung ends the call with a dejected expression.

 

'Fuuuuuuuck. Jinyoung, think carefully! You can take yourself out of this shithole.' He tells himself, pocketing his hands and then his eyes grow wide. He hopes the small rectangular paper can save him, it his last resort.

 

"Hello?" Jinyoung says, purposely making his voice more pleasant. "Hello." comes in the other's groggy voice, "Who is this?" Jinyoung clears his throat and replies, "This is Park Jinyoung, I'm the person earlier." The line goes quiet for seconds and it's totally making Jinyoung anxious.

 

"Which one?" the other asks. Jinyoung rolls his eyes, "You broke my phone?" He doesn't know why he has to say it in a questioning manner, but he did. "Oh. Did you get it fixed already?" "No." Jinyoung can still feel the cracks on his cheek. "Then what? Are you checking if the number is correct? Yes, you have the right number. This is Im Jaebum."

 

"No." Jinyoung replies again, blushing at what he's supposed to say. It's really funny how a thirty-three-year-old virgin guy blushes at the thought of fake dating. "Then why did you call me?" Jaebum says, annoyed. "I called because of the offer." Jinyoung whispers, he can feel himself growing redder.

 

"Ohh. I'm glad I earned another customer, but I can't. I don't work without a prior appointment. I'm sorry." Jaebum replies casually and Jinyoung's facial expression shifted immediately. "Come on! You broke my phone!"

 

"That's a different case."

 

"Okay then, I will double the pay!"

 

"Still no." Jinyoung cusses at his mind, thinking that for an escort, Jaebum's too choosy.

 

"Okay, triple the pay and you don't have to pay for my phone."  Desperate times call for desperate measures might have gone a little too overboard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Where are you right now?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fifteen minutes after the call, Jaebum is still nowhere to be found. When Jinyoung glanced to Jackson and Mark's table, he sees the two preparing to leave. 'Noooooooooo' Jinyoung thinks because that means his money will go to waste and Jackson wouldn't be able to see that he has a date. A young and very good looking date!

 

 

 

"Jinyoung-sshi?" Jinyoung looks to where the source of his name is and sees Jaebum standing by the door, waving at him. "Jaebum-ah! Let's go?" Jinyoung abruptly stands up and runs towards Jaebum's side, but stops in front of Mark and Jackson. "Oh, are you two leaving already?" He says, giving them his surprised but fake smile.

 

"Oh, yes, we are. We still have a lot of plans tonight." Jackson replies, smiling sweetly at Mark. Jinyoung's face fell and the fake smile on his face immediately vanished. "Oh, is that so? By the way my name is Im Jaebum, I'm sorry but we have to leave first." Jaebum places his arm around Jinyoung's shoulder and pushes the latter to walk faster.

 

"Don't look back; you will appear as if you still have feelings." Jaebum whispers at him. Jinyoung doesn't know how Jaebum found out, but he's glad he did, somewhat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jinyoung drives until they reach a lesser popular bar, much to his liking, Jaebum keeps himself quiet. "What the hell are you doing? Are you planning to kill yourself?" Jaebum says while watching Jinyoung drown on his fifth bottle. Jinyoung doesn't reply, he only continues on chugging down the bitter liquid. "You know what, I don't really care, but you should pay me first."

 

 

 

 

 

It's when Jinyoung's on his tenth bottle when Jaebum wakes from his nap. Jinyoung has his head on the table, his shoulders shaking. Jaebum can't really tell if the liquid on his face is his tears or just the soju from the bottle he knocked down earlier.

 

"It hurts." Jinyoung says but it was too weak for Jaebum to hear so he leans closer and looks at the drunken man's face. "It hurts, Jaebum-ah." Jinyoung says louder, sitting up straight as he bangs his hand on his chest slowly. "It's not even my heart that that is aching!" Jinyoung continues, gripping the soju bottle while Jaebum watches him lazily.

 

"They hurt my pride! They made fun of me! They made me feel worthless! Who are they to do that to me!?" Jinyoung chugs again another bottle before he looks straight into Jaebum's eyes. "And you will help me." then, he passes out, almost falling to the ground if not from Jaebum's fast reflex.

 

 

 

 

 


	2. You're Such A Bad Luck

 

 

 

 

The moment Jinyoung stepped into his office, his office mates are huddled together. Jackson and Mark are a little farther, like they're inside their own bubble, not caring to the world around them. Jinyoung tries not to send spiteful looks to them, so he shifts his eyes and sits down on his chair.

 

"Jinyoung-sshi! Good morning!" Says his colleague, Jinwoo, smiling as he makes his way to him. "Oh, good morning, Jinwoo-sshi." And then, his older colleague rushes to his side, wide eyed and visibly curious. "Is it true, you're dating a younger guy?" He whispers, but somehow everyone hears him and all of the eyes are on them.

 

Jinyoung blinks his eyes profusely, ransacking his brain to come up with a reason to appease his office mates. Then, as he is about to open his mouth to give the lamest answer, probably, someone knocks on their door. All the attentions then shifts towards the sudden interruption.

 

"Hi, Jinyoung-sshi." There, on the door, actually walking closer to him is none other than Jaebum. Heartbeat hammering and pupils dilating, Jinyoung stays still and watches Jaebum smile at him. "Jaebum-sshi, what are you doing here?" slowly, Jinyoung walks towards him.

 

"Am I not allowed to visit my boyfriend?" Jaebum offers, his hand reaching to intertwine his fingers with Jinyoung's. It successfully earns loud gasps and murmurs from the people around them. "I didn't know you were into younger men, Jinyoung-sshi." Jackson says as he crosses his arms on his chest.

 

"Oh, I'm sorry; I'm Im Jaebum by the way. I'm Jinyoung's boyfriend." Then, the young brat bows and flashes his billion dollar smile. And before any of them can ask another question, Jinyoung pulls Jaebum out of the office.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"What the fuck?" Jinyoung says between his clenched teeth, his eyes are piercing through Jaebum's, but the latter seems not to care. "What are you so mad about? I just did what we talked about last night." Jaebum says, pocketing his hands as he watches Jinyoung grow angrier.

 

"What did we talk about!?" Even though he's trying hard to say it in a quiet voice, it's still very obvious that he's very pissed. "I'm your fake boyfriend for a month for three thousand dollars." If it's even possible, Jinyoung's eyes grow wider.

 

"Three thousand dollars!?" He repeats, not caring if he's yelling. "And what happened last night!? Did you-?" Then, out of frustration and anger, he hands goes to hit Jaebum. "Hey- Hey! Stop hitting me!" Jaebum then holds Jinyoung's arms, stilling the seething man.

 

"Do you really not remember anything?" Then, as much as Jinyoung doesn't want to remember it, the last night’s memories flash into his mind.

 

 

 

 

 

"I am gonna avenge! I will make them pay for the damage they made to my pride!" Jinyoung drunkenly yells as he hugs his fifteenth soju bottle. "And you are going to help me, you insolent brat." He turns to look at Jaebum's eyes. "You!" he says as he points the bottle to Jaebum.

 

"Are you sure?" Jaebum replies, taking the bottle from Jinyoung's hold as the liquor soaks Jinyoung's clothes. "Yes!" Jinyoung makes no effort to stop Jaebum from taking the bottle, instead, he takes another one and chugs it.

 

Jaebuum grimaces as he watches how messily Jinyoung drinks, soaking his top. "Three thousand dollars for a month. Three hours per day, but you can use it depending on your preference. The basic skinship are free of charge, hugging is seventy-five dollars and kissing is ninety dollars, like what I told you." Jaebum recites the line like he has been saying it since forever.

 

Jinyoung has his eyes squinted while listening to Jaebum. "You punk! Deal." Then, he chugs his soju again. "Are you really sure about this, Jinyoung-sshi?" Jaebum, despite being happy at the great money he's about to get, he still has some decency left in him. After hearing Jaebum's question, Jinyoung looks back at him.

 

"Of course, I am!" he replies while fisting his hand in the air. "Is he really worth it for you to spend so much?" Jaebum takes the bottle again from Jinyoung, more than half of the soju is soaking his clothes. What a waste for a good drink.

 

"You don't understand, Jaebum. We're talking about my pride, so I'm sure it's worth it."

 

 

 

 

 

And he also remembers being dragged home by the young man. Nothing obscene happened, well except from puking on the road. Jinyoung then bashfully lowers his head, but immediately goes berserk again. "You can't just make a deal with a drunk person!"

 

Jaebum rolls his eyes and sighs. "That's why I asked you a lot of times. But you never change your answer." Jinyoung then pulls his hair and groans in frustrations. "Even so! Give me back my money!" To this, Jaebum rolls his eyes again and stares hard at Jinyoung.

 

"I can't, I don't do refunds." He replies and so Jinyoung is back to hitting him, but no punch landed on Jaebum properly. Jaebum considers himself a patient person, but not when the other party is like this. So, he holds Jinyoung's wrist together and pushes him away from him.

 

"You can cancel the deal, but I'm not you giving the money back." With that, Jinyoung's world crumbles down as Jaebum turns his back on him and leaves. Now, not only he has his heart broken, his bank account too. Three thousand dollars isn't a joke. It's his blood sweat and tears as a career man in the twenty-first century.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Wooyoung hyung! What should I do? He took my money!" Jinyoung whines while Wooyoung makes an additional order. "Aigoo~ aigoo. I don't know what to do to you, Jinyoung-ah." He replies a little later, sending looks to the younger.

 

"I want my money back, hyung! That's Three thousand dollars! That's equivalent to my rent on my condo unit!" Wooyoung continues sending him looks. Ever since he met Jinyoung eight years ago, there's one thing that he's sure of. Jinyoung's a walking disaster.

 

"You know, I don't really know how you'll get your money back. Sure, the young man should not have taken the money from you, but you also did something wrong. Why would you even think of making revenge to Jackson? Is he even worth it?" And just like what Jaebum told him the last time, Jinyoung grimaces and slumps on the table.

 

"I don't know, hyung." Jinyoung sighs and watches the waiter bring them their orders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thinking about it overnight, Jinyoung decides it would be better if he would just make use of him. He paid for him after all. So he dials the number and waits for the cunning insolent brat to pick his call.

 

"If you're gonna pretend as my boyfriend, you better look presentable. I don't want people to talk about me. Meet me at the Lotte World in an hour." Without hearing a reply from the other, Jinyoung ends the call and prepares to leave.

 

When he arrives at their meeting place, the young brat is already there, clad in jeans and a hoodie. Definitely not the best outfit for someone to be called as his boyfriend.

 

And so, they head to the clothe shop. Jinyoung waits and watches Jaebum tries out different clothes. Well, the good thing about Jaebum is that he's good looking, so whatever he wears automatically looks good. But he doesn't want to settle for good, he wants great.

 

"No, you will look like a high school studentwith that." Jinyoung tells Jaebum when the latter tries out casual clothes. But when Jaebum tries out a black suit and tie, Jinyoung almost drools. This is what he's looking for. Someone who looks nice, with a decent job. He looks like a lawyer like that.

 

"This. Let's take this." Jinyoung says, brushing the non-existent dust on Jaebum's shoulder. Then he pats it and smiles to himself. Out of nowhere, the saleslady suddenly walks up to Jaebum. "Is he your older brother?" she asks cheerfully, to which Jaebum replies a nonchalant "No."

 

"I'm his boyfriend." Jinyoung cuts in and eyes the woman. "Is there something wrong with that?" The woman grows pale, her eyes wide and then she excuses herself without looking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"You're really serious with this revenge; you bought so much for me." Jaebum says as they wait for their food. Jinyoung, on the other hands, is rummaging his bag, looking for something. Then, when he found it, he takes it out and places it on the table.

 

"What's this?" Jaebum asks, he takes the paper and reads what is written. "That's our contract." Jinyoung states, crossing his arms. "You will pretend that you're a lawyer as long as we're on this deal. You're also not allowed to take other customers during the time being since I don't want people asking me why they see you with different guys. You are also not allowed to make up your own shit."

 

Jaebum keeps a smile on his face as he listens to Jinyoung, reading the contract carefully. "Also, you're not allowed to fall in love with me." Jinyoung adds in a prideful manner which makes Jaebum snicker. "Didn't I already tell you that I have a type?" he says, and then he grins at him. "You don't fit in."

 

Jinyoung opens his mouth to say something but he's too stunned with the younger's forwardness. "Wow." He says much later, "Don't worry; I don't see you as a man." Jaebum smirks and battles with eye contact with Jinyoung.

 

 

"You're very rude! Is that how your parents taught you to be." to this, Jaebum's face shifts to a stern expression. "Let me just add to this contract that you're not allowed to ask questions about my personal life."

 

Jaebum then places the contract down and looks at Jinyoung's eyes. "Haaa, whatever. You're not allowed to ask too!" Jinyoung makes a face and stays quiet as the waiter places their orders on the table. When the waiter leaves, Jinyoung keeps his eyes on Jaebum as if wanting to ask something.

 

"What?" Jaebum asks focusing solely on his food, not even looking at Jinyoung. "How old are you?" Jaebum then turns to look at him, still with the same expression. "What? Is that too personal? I want to know because, duhh, you're my fake boyfriend." Jinyoung says in defense, but Jaebum only goes back to eating his food.

 

"Twenty-seven." He says and Jinyoung almost misses it. "Woah, you're so young." Jinyoung mumbles to himself, finally diving into his food as well. "Nahh, you're just old." To this, his stops eating his ramyun midway and glares at Jaebum hard.

 

Jaebum, on the other hand, smiles at him. Well, he's lucky; Jinyoung thinks he's cute when he's smiling. 'No, Jinyoung! You're not allowed to think that way!'

 

 

 

 

 

"How much is this?" Jaebum places down the paper bags in front of Yugyeom. He's a friend he met a year ago and ever since then, he helps him with his clothe store and he gets some earnings from it. Yugyeom stands up and checks the bags. Everything is expensive, he can tell from the first look, he's a clothes shop owner after all.

 

"500 dollars." He says, this is how business goes. Buy things cheap and sell them expensively. "1000 dollars." Jaebum counters, of course, he isn't one to fool. "600." Yugyeom says again. Jaebum squints at him and sighs. "750" and then, Yugyeom nods and hands him the money.

 

"Thanks." After taking it, Jaebum flees.

 

 

 

Along with the money from his month's worth with Jinyoung, he brings it to a bank. "Can you please transfer this to this account?" Jaebum says to the bank teller as he hands him his bank book and cash.

 

"Im Jaebum to Choi Youngjae?" The teller asks, confirming the names. "Yes, please." Jaebum replies as he nods. And as the teller makes the process, Jaebum sighs and closes his eyes. Finally. Youngjae will finally have it. It took him long, but at least, he can have it now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Good job, everyone!" Jinyoung shouts happily after their fortnightly meeting. Waves' visitors and active users have been increasing by the past months. And Jinyoung can't be happier with his department's performance.

 

"Jinyoung-sshi!" Jinwoo walks to his side and smiles at him. "The department is planning to eat out tonight, you should come with us." He says with his ever resting nice face. Despite being a little older than Jinyoung, Jinwoo always looked younger than anyone else.

 

"Yeah, Jinyoung! And you should also invite your boyfriend with you." Jackson yells from the other side of the room. Now that he thinks about it, he had not made use of Jaebum yet, this is the perfect time. "Sure, sure." He replies and exits the room, quickly sending a text message to Jaebum.

 

 

 

 

 

When they arrive at the ramyun shop, Jackson and Mark are glued together. Jackson can't seem to keep his hands off Mark. It honestly makes Jinyoung bitter because when they were 'dating', Jackson never held his hand.  But now, as he looks at them, Jackson looks like he'll die if he ever tries to let go of Mark's hand.

 

"Hello everyone!" Then, suddenly Jaebum is walking towards them. Dressed in the clothes Jinyoung is certain he didn't buy. He's too casual, just in jeans and hoodie, his usual look. "Oh, Jaebum-ah! Come here and eat." Says Junmyeon, the oldest one in their department.

 

"Yes. Yes. Thank you." Jaebum then takes his hoodie off and dives into the food like the young brat he is. Jinyoung feels his inside twitching and he really wants to slap Jaebum right now. He wants to ask where the clothes are, why is he wearing that? Didn't they talk about that he's supposed to dress nicely?

 

Mark and Jackson are sending Jinyoung looks while his pseudo boyfriend is oblivious to it. He's just too focused on eating the meats like he had not eaten them for a month. "So, what do you do for a living, Jaebum?" Junmyeom asks to lighten up the atmosphere.

 

"I'm a Lawyer at Lee and Jang Firm." He says nonchalantly, still too busy eating. Everyone turns to look at Jaebum, gasping and curious. "You mean, THE Lee and Jang Firm?" Jinwoo asks, slightly moving close to Jaebum. "Yeah." He replies as he leans back and chews the meat inside his mouth.

 

It's great and all, but Jinyoung doesn't remember telling him that. He's just supposed to be a lawyer, not a big time lawyer. "So you earn millions per year?" Junmyeon asks, stuttering a little, glancing from Jaebum to Jinyoung. All the latter could do was fake a smile. Then, Mark excuses himself.

 

"More or less." Jaebum looks at Junmyeon and smiles. "Really, I know someone from Lee and Jang." Jackson butts in with a hint of mischief in his voice. "I resigned a year ago, though." Jaebum states and eats again, earning a loud groan from everyone.

 

"Why? Why did you do that? What are you doing now?" Junmyeon shakes his head disbelievingly, well Jinyoung understands him. Why would you resign when you earn that much per year? "I do this and that. I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do with my life." Then, he turns to Jinyoung and raises his glass.

 

"How about you pour me a soju, my baby?" Jinyoung almost chokes on his saliva, trying his best not to glare too hard at Jaebum. It earned whistles and comments from everyone, but instead of doing what Jaebum asked him to do. He stands up and pulls Jaebum along with him. "Excuse me." He says and then, they're out.

 

Jinyoung pulled him to the restroom and hits his arm. "What the fuck was that?" He states more than asks. Jaebum sighs and scratches his nape as Jinyoung paces around. "Why did you have to make up those lies? What are you even thinking?" Jinyoung stops and glares at him.

 

"Why are you even wearing that? Where are the clothes I bought?" then he continues pacing again, his fist clenching and unclenching. "I just want to make them feel comfortable with me." Jaebum replies, crossing his arms on his chest, but keeping it in a lazy manner.

 

"You want to what?!" Jinyoung stops again and stands right in front of him. "Don't try to mingle with my personal life. Your job is to pretend as my boyfriend and do what I told you to do. Comfortable? I didn't pay you to be comfortable with them." Jinyoung states, jabbing his finger onto Jaebum's chest.

 

"Don't ever try to do that again. I pay you so I'm your boss, I am your employer and your job is to do only what I told you to do. You're such a bad luck." Jaebum keeps a straight face at him. Jinyoung is nowhere near calm and the younger's expression somehow pisses him off more.

 

Then his phone rings, not moving far away from Jaebum, Jinyoung takes it.  "Hello? What happened? Why? Are you sure you do not have back up files? Okay okay. I'll be there in few minutes." And without a goodbye, Jinyoung leaves him in the restroom.

 

And just as he is about to go out, he hears a flush coming from one of the cubicles. Then, Mark walks out of it and washes his hand on the sink, looking at Jaebum. Mark then walks towards him, keeping an eye contact until his back hits something hard. The older then takes out a tissue from the rack on his back.

 

"Jinyoung's right. You're a bad luck." Mark says before throwing the tissue and leaving Jaebum too.


	3. Is This What I Have Been Waiting For?

 

 

 

 

 

Taehyun, from the video editing department, has just called Jinyoung. Apparently, a bug infiltrated their computers and corrupted their files. And it's not really something nice, not when they are supposed to post three videos and five articles the next day. So, instead of staying at their dinner, he informed his office mates regarding the matter and bids them goodbye.

 

As he waits for his taxi, something catches his eye from his side. But instead of paying attention, he just sighs but anxiously waits for a taxi. "You know, you should stop pretending and thinking about what others think about you. That's very pathetic." Mark says as he stands a meter away from Jinyoung.

 

The latter glances at his side, but intentionally ignores him. "And if you're that anxious, I'm sure you wouldn't be able to think of solutions to the predicament." To this, Jinyoung turns his whole body to Mark and sighs before he speaks.

 

"I don't have time to have a petty argument with you right now. So, can you please stop bothering me?" Jinyoung says and stares at Mark's eyes for a good ten seconds before he desperately calls for the passing cab. Mark should have backed off now, but instead of doing so, he snickers at Jinyoung.

 

"You really do not know who should be your allies." He says and then he steps closer to the road, calmly calling a cab. Jinyoung then sees with his own eyes how Mark was able to stop taxi just like that. "Go in." Mark states ever calmly.

 

Without thinking much about it anymore, Jinyoung enters the cab. And in the side mirror, he can see Mark watching him. For a very long time that he has known Mark, he's certain that what he saw in his eyes was kindness. Surely, you can't really judge a book by its cover.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Minho, from the IT department, already tried to salvage the files, but it seems like the virus is very strong." Taehyun explains as he shows the corrupted files to Jinyoung to which the latter couldn't help but grimace.

 

"Call everyone who can be present, we have no other choice but to shoot the videos again." Jinyoung tells him and opens the scripts through his google drives. A little later, his office mates who were with him earlier came back.

 

It's no longer working hours, but this is what Jinyoung loves about his colleagues, they're all too dedicated with work. "Jinyoung-sshi, the others are not picking up since it's a long weekend. They're probably heading for their vacation already." Taehyun worriedly tells him, pacing as he tries to call their video personalities again.

 

 

 

 

 

"I can do it." then, walking through the door is Mark. Jinyoung is really trying his best not to get swayed with what Mark is trying to do. But he can't hide that he's being less of a dick the past few hours. "Where's the script?" Mark stops in front him, reaching his empty hand to Jinyoung.

 

Jinyoung can hear his colleagues cheering and he feels the same way too. "Here." Jinyoung smiles as he hands the script to Mark. The latter nods and quickly scans it before moving towards the make-up station. Jinyoung watches him from afar and sees Jackson, setting up the camera and lights.

 

He also sees him sending Mark a cheerful fighting, which obviously makes the latter smile. Maybe it's too stupid to finally admit it, but maybe the best to for his pride is just to let these things go. They might have hurt their pride, but who is he to stop these people from being happy?

 

Also, he might have liked Jackson, and he never knows when he'll get to meet someone who likes him too. But who knows?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's almost one in the morning when they finished. Everyone's tired but they're still buzzing from the adrenaline rush. This is nothing new, but it still makes Jinyoung happy.

 

"Great job, everyone! As always! Thank you very much for your hard work!" He yells and makes everyone turn to him. "It's nothing, Jinyoung-sshi." Taehyun replies, giving him a warm smile. Minho on the other side is giving him two thumbs up. And the others are just laughing and thanking everyone. And when he spots Mark alone in the makeup station, he walks up to him.

 

"Hey." He says as he leans on the table beside Mark. The latter glances at him, but maintains his disinterested face. "Thank you. Thank you very much." Jinyoung states, smiling at him, but Mark only stands up and gathers his things.

 

"Don't feel too good for yourself. I did not do this for you." He replies a little later, but the spite in his voice is notable non-existent. So instead of giving a cocky comeback, Jinyoung laughs and says, "If you say so." Then, he leaves him, stretching his arms as he walks away from him.

 

If he had turned back, he would have seen the small smile on Mark's face.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When Jinyoung is finally about to go home, as he walks out of their building, he sees Jackson waiting by the road. "Hey." He says from afar, flashing Jinyoung his smile. "Hey." Jinyoung replies as he walks closer to him.

 

"Should we go home together?" Jackson asks, successfully making Jinyoung raise his brows. Now that he thinks about it, he doesn't really know why he had liked Jackson so much. Sure, he's good-looking and all, but he can be really shitty sometimes.

 

"You know, it's true when I told you that I liked you." he follows up when Jinyoung remains quiet. "Don't you think we should just remain friends?" Jinyoung never thought he would say such words, but it definitely makes him feel good. Jackson's expression falters, but he's quick to fake a smile.

 

"But I have never been friends with my exes." Jackson tries to counters as he blinks profusely, a sign that he's caught off guard. "Me neither." Jinyoung smiles wider as he replies. "But we can try." And that's true, despite being a shitty person, well; Jackson had always been a good colleague. He can be a friend.

 

"Okay then, my friend." Jackson says as he points his index fingers to Jinyoung. "Okay! My friend!" Jinyoung mimics him as he laughs a little, then he walks away without looking back.

 

 

 

 

 

When Jackson turns to look back at the building, he sees Mark. So, he walks up to him and says "Hey." Mark stays quiet, but he gives Jackson a glance. "Should we go home together?" Jackson says as he angles his arm for Mark to take.

 

Mark only stares at it and then he looks into Jackson's eyes. "I think we should break up." He says like he always does. "Why are saying that again? It's the seventh time already." The smile on Jackson's face falls down as he places both of his hands on his hips.

 

"That's why we should really break up." Mark replies nonchalantly. Jackson breathes in hard and bites his lip. "Fine! If that's what you want! But don't go running after me if you miss me!" Jackson tries to say it as mean as he can, but something's breaking inside him. He hopes Mark would take everything he said.

 

"Don't worry, I won't." Mark smiles at him then he walks away. Jackson fans himself as he disbelievingly watches Mark leave him just like that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

\--

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jaebum has been eating ramyun from the past days, but can't really complain about that. And today's also not an exemption. "So, he's easy money?" Yugyeom asks as he tangles the noodles on his chopsticks. They're at Yugyeom's clothes shop, doing the usual.

 

 

 

"Yeah, kind of." Jaebum replies before sipping the soup of his ramyun. "But do you like him?" He might have been friends with Yugyeom for a long time now, but that doesn't mean he has gotten less mean to him. "I don't." he says dismissively, continuing to eat his food.

 

"He's an ahjusshi who can get really physical when he's mad. And he gets mad easily." He adds a little later, making Yugyeom smile. "Just don't fall in love with him." The younger teases, elbowing as he says his reply. Jaebum turns to him and makes a face.

 

"I don't fall in love with my client, that’s in my contract." He says, and then on the corner of his eyes, he sees a familiar boy. "Hey, tell him I'm not here." Then, he jumps from the pile of clothes and hides himself at the back of Yugyeom's store.

 

"Hey, Youngjae-sshi!" Yugyeom greets as the other boy walks up to him. "Hi, Yugyeom-sshi." Youngjae timidly replies, glancing around the area as if he's looking for someone. "He's not here. I'm sorry." Yugyeom states, nodding to add sincerity to it.

 

Youngjae sighs and then he looks straight into his eyes. "Please tell him that he doesn't need to give me the money." He says, his forehead creasing a little, remembering how much Jaebum has transferred to his account. "I can't take it."

 

"You know he does what he wants." Yugyeom replies truthfully. "But sure, I will pass him the message." All the while, Jaebum is listening to their conversation until his phone rings.

 

"Yes, Jinyoung-sshi?" Then, peeking through the clothes, he looks at Youngjae for the last time before he flees away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Did you really call me for this?" Jaebum asks as he picks up Jinyoung's baby blue underwear with bears printed on it. As soon as the older noticed it, he grabs it from him and earns a chuckle from the younger. "I can do whatever I want." Jinyoung says in his defense.

 

"I'm wondering if you got my job description right." Jaebum starts as he helps Jinyoung place the pile of dirty clothes into the washing machine. "If not helping you with the laundry, I help with your groceries." Jinyoung nods as he listens to the younger.

 

"Do you, perhaps, forget what escorts are for?" Jaebum finished with a mocking face, to which Jinyoung gave him a slap on the arm. "And what happened to your avenging?" Jaebum adds more clothes then sets the machine. Jinyoung leans on it as he thinks about his answer to Jaebum's question.

 

"I just realized that it's better for me to let it pass. I might have thought that he's my destiny, but he clearly isn't." Jinyoung starts, looking at his nails as he talks. "Destiny?" Jaebum asks and tries not to laugh at it which, of course, didn't go unnoticed in Jinyoung's eyes.

 

"Yes! Someone who sweeps me off my feet and completes the missing piece of my life." Jinyoung says proudly, but Jaebum only laughs at him. "I honestly didn't think you believe in such thing." Jaebum states, crossing his arms as he leans onto the machine as well.

 

"You don't know me, Jaebum-ah." Jinyoung says in a mocking voice as he makes a face too. "But I will gladly accept help from you since you're still under the contract." Jaebum snickers for a whole minute. And then he looks into Jinyoung’s eyes, surprising the latter with the sudden seriousness. Then he picks Jinyoung up and makes him sit on the top of the machine.

 

Jinyoung gasps and blinks his eyes profusely. Jaebum messes his hair and brushes it with his fingers. "Jaebum-ah! What are you doing?" He asks, Jaebum only gives him a tight-lipped smile as he unbuttons Jinyoung's shirt. Luckily he likes wearing multiple layers of clothes so he still has a wife beater underneath. "Hey!" The latter tries to stop the younger, but Jaebum ignores him.

 

"There, if you're too desperate to find your destiny then there you go." Jaebum states as he folds the sleeves of Jinyoung's shirt. Jinyoung looks at himself and sees the shift of the style. It looks nice, very fashionable, but then again. "What? What are you trying to make me look like? A teenager?" Jinyoung asks as he buttons his shirt again.

 

Jaebum shakes his head with a smile, and before Jinyoung can finish what he is doing, the former leaves. He's about to protest but when he sees the time on his watch; he sighs and gets off from the machine. Lately, three hours seemed to be so short whenever he's with Jaebum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"You know what, this is your fault." Jackson barges into the make station and stands in front of Mark. The latter didn't even glance at him; instead, he keeps on doing what he's doing. "I can't even get it up." Jackson whispers then he groans after.

 

"That's not my problem." Mark says dismissively as he scans his script. Jackson groans again and places both of his hands on the armrest of Mark's chair. "Ever since you broke up with me, I can't get it up anymore!"

 

Mark snickers and finally looks into Jackson's eyes. "It's not my fault." He repeats and then he goes back to reading his script. Jackson stands back up straight and pulls his hair. "In my past relationships, no one broke up with me. It's always me who does it." He says more to himself than to Mark.

 

Then, he goes back to his previous position, but this time, he holds Mark's hand. "You have to take responsibility!" He says desperately trying to keep himself from shouting. Mark shakes his hands off and says, "No." then he leaves Jackson groaning on the floor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Hey, did someone already buy the clothes I sold you?” Jaebum asks Yugyeom as soon as he reaches the store. The younger shots him a disbelieving look then smirks at him. “800 dollars.” He says. Jaebum groans, but hands Yugyeom the money nevertheless.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jinyoung feels lighter now that he had cleared things up between him and Jackson. And sometimes he couldn't help but laugh whenever Mark shows his tsundere self. But he must admit, the guy's pretty nice, he's just covered with a thick layer of spite.

 

As he walks out of his office, he sees Jaebum waiting by the building's receiving area. He's wearing earphones and he has his eyes close. Even though he's much younger than Jinyoung, the latter still somehow thinks he's good-looking. He somehow can’t help but see him as a man. "Hey." he says as he pokes the younger's cheek.

 

Jaebum then opens his eyes and looks up at him. "Hey." He greets as he stands up, stretching a little too. "What are you doing here?" Jinyoung asks smiling at the younger. "You know we're half way down to the contract, but we never really went out on a date." Jaebum explains as he leads Jinyoung out of the building.

 

"So?" Jinyoung asks, matching his steps with the younger. "We're gonna do it tonight." Jaebum looks at him and smiles, the one that he doesn't usually show Jinyoung. The latter nods and sighs, "Don't tell me you're starting to have feelings for me. You know that would be the end of our contract." He teases, but Jaebum only snickers at him.

 

"In your dreams, Jinyoung-sshi." Jaebum says cheekily. Jinyoung hits his arm playfully as he laughs. Times like this, albeit very seldom, Jaebum thinks Jinyoung's nice like this. "What are your plans for this date then?" Jinyoung asks as they continue to walk.

 

"The usual, the things the usual couple does." Jaebum explains, pocketing his hands as he nod. "Like what?" As much as Jinyoung hates to admit it, he's really inexperienced with relationships. So he doesn't really know what 'the usual things' are.

 

"Holding hands, eating out, hugging, kissing, like those things." Jaebum nods to himself glancing at Jinyoung from time to time. The latter then laughs and holds Jaebum's arm. "Why are you laughing?" He asks as he somehow starts smiling with the sound of Jinyoung's laugh.

 

"Don't you think I'm too old for that?" Jinyoung says a little later, still holding onto Jaebum's arm as they keep on walking. "No one is too old for these things, Jinyoung-sshi." Jaebum replies whilst smiling, to which Jinyoung nods and agrees.

 

And then suddenly, Jaebum becomes stiff, carefully, he reaches his hand to Jinyoung's. "Do you think you're too old for running?" He asks quietly, making Jinyoung stop laughing. Then, without waiting for Jinyoung's reply, Jaebum pulls him and they run together.

 

And then they hear older men shouting at them, asking them to stop. When they reach the night market, Jaebum pulls Jinyoung inside a hat shop and then he places a Pororo hat on him. "Shh." He says as he puts his index finger on his lips. Jinyoung nods and peeks through the window to see if the men were gone.

 

But as soon as he did, the men notice them and run after them. Jaebum takes off his hat and pulls Jinyoung out again. When they reach the night restaurants, Jinyoung stops and pants loudly. "Why do I have to run with you anyway?" He asks, coughing a little.

 

"Because they saw you were with me. And they will not let you go until you tell them where I went." Jaebum offers as an explanation as he looks out if they totally lost the men. But when Jinyoung stands straight, he sees the men running towards them. So, he pulls Jaebum's hands and starts running again.

 

It continued for almost an hour, running and laughing together. Totally forgetting that their hands are tightly clasped with one another. Jinyoung has never run this much ever since he was in middle school and somehow it makes him feel young again. His heart is beating so loud.

 

Then, when Jaebum sees an alley, he pulls Jinyoung with him there. "Shh! Shh!" He says to appease a laughing Jinyoung whom he unknowingly pinned on the wall. "Do you think we finally lost them?" Jinyoung whispers between his giggles.

 

"I don't know but we should stay quiet." Jaebum laughs too, looking towards the street. Jinyoung laughs and Jaebum turns to look at him, smiling so hard the former can't see his eyes anymore. And suddenly he realizes how close they are.

 

Jinyoung can feel his heart beating harder. 'It's probably because you ran so much.' he tells himself as he watches Jaebum laughing.  "What? Why are you so red?" Jaebum asks as he stops laughing but keeps the grin on his face.

 

"Why else would it be? You made me run miles! You brat!" Jinyoung almost stutters so he hits Jaebum's arms. But instead of moving away, Jaebum leans a little closer, smirking at him. "You're thinking of nasty thoughts, aren't you?" He teases and then he pins Jinyoung's arms and the wall.

 

"You want to kiss me, right?" He asks and Jinyoung becomes redder. Well, that's not exactly a lie. Having been kissed only thrice in his whole life, he has been thirsty for kisses for a long time already. And to think that Jaebum is handsome like this. "What the fuck? No!" He yells and tries to break free.

 

Jaebum laughs again but still refuses to move away. "Ehhh. I know you want to kiss me." Jaebum then slowly inches forward, and then-

 

"Hey. Stop it. If he said no, it's no." A man, a very tall man who is very good looking dressed in a nice suit, looking prim and proper, says. 'Oh my gosh.' Jinyoung says in his mind. 'Is this what I have been waiting for?'

 

 

 


	4. You Don't Understand, Sir

 

 

 

 

"This is what I hate the most, people abusing others just because they're stronger." The man continues as he takes two steps closer to Jaebum and Jinyoung. The latter breathes in hard; listening to the guy's monolog makes his heart run for miles. If he had known he would meet his destiny this way, he would not have run along with Jaebum.

 

"Let him go." And Jinyoung hearing that man talk with utter conviction and strength makes his knees go jelly. The young brat only snickers at the guy, but not in an insulting manner. "Oh, you don't understand Sir. We know each other, right?" He says, eyes becoming wide as he looks into Jinyoung's.

 

He doesn't know what has gotten into him, but tearing his eyes away from the younger man was a challenge. "Is that true?" The tall man questions again, taking another step, keeping a defensive stance. "That's not true. I don't know him." Jinyoung states, stuttering, successfully making Jaebum's eyes' even wider.

 

Jaebum may be younger than Jinyoung, but he knows what the older is trying to do. So, instead of countering the older, he takes a step back and lets Jinyoung's hands go. The latter blinks his eyes profusely and timidly runs towards the man's side. "Thank you for saving me. Young men today can be really dangerous." He says exaggeratingly, closing his eyes, hugging himself and all.

 

He can hear Jaebum snickering at the back, but he pays him no attention, he looked up to the tall man instead. "Should I lead you out in the streets? Just to make sure you'll be safe?" The man says and cherry blossoms suddenly start blooming on his background. Suddenly, Jinyoung feels like he's in a shoujo (or is it, a yaoi?) manga.

 

"You really don't have to." Jinyoung replies but keeps his fingers crossed that the man would insist. "Are you sure?" The man says and Jinyoung automatically regrets his decision. "No, I should lead you out. Again, just to make sure you're safe." But the man continues as he throws glances to Jaebum's direction.

 

"If you insist then." Jinyoung bites his smile and bows his head. Then, carefully, the tall man leads him out and he prays to god this will lead to their happy ending too. Jinyoung is not short, he's pretty tall, to be honest, but the man is way taller than him. The tip of his head probably only reaches the bottom of the man's ear.

 

Now it's like he's back in a manga again. Their height difference gives him butterflies in his tummy, it's perfect for kissing. Jinyoung glances at the man at the same time the latter does. He gives Jinyoung a warm smile and he tries his best to keep his internal screaming internal.

 

The tall man has this thick brows, perfect double eyelids, prominent nose, a jawline that can cut, and lips that are so kissable. "Is there something on my face?" The man asks since Jinyoung has been staring at his face the whole while. Jinyoung finally tears his eyes away, blushing hard.

 

"No, it's just- Um. What's your name…? If you don't mind me asking?" Jinyoung tries stealing glances at the man and he sees him smiling a little. "I don't mind." He replies and then he looks at Jinyoung's eyes. "Honestly, I was about to ask yours." Jinyoung will definitely mark this day. Because as soon as the man gives him a grin, Jinyoung's soul leaves his body and flies to the heavens.

 

"I'm Kris, Kris Wu. How about you?" The tall man, Kris, says as he reaches his hand for Jinyoung's. Jinyoung stares at the hand then back to Kris' eyes before he envelopes it with him. And god, their hands looks so cute like this. Kris' is so huge against his. So manly. So lovely. So ideal. So destiny material.

 

"My name is Jinyoung, Park Jinyoung. It's nice to meet you." Jinyoung replies, reluctantly pulling his hand away because he doesn't want to appear too desperate, too clingy. But Kris stops him, gently squeezing his hand. "I should be the one saying that." Kris gives his hand another squeeze before he lets it go.

 

"I think you're safe here." Kris breaks the moment and looks around the street. Jinyoung does too, hiding his smile by keeping his head low. "Thank you." Jinyoung says as he looks back to Kris' face. The latter looks back at him and gives him the same warm smile.

 

"You're welcome." Kris smiles at him. "I can offer you a ride home. Would you be fine with that?" He says and Jinyoung's really melting inside now. "No, it's okay. I'm fine." Jinyoung says and hopes, again, that Kris would insist. If he asks one more time, he would definitely take the offer.

 

"Okay then. Goodbye." And then, he turns around, leaving Jinyoung and what could have been their happy ending. But Jinyoung wouldn't let that happen easily, now that he found him, he wouldn't let him go. "Excuse me!" He yells softly, then Kris turns around and looks at him.

 

"Is it okay if I ask for your calling card? I would like to take you out to a dinner as a form of my gratitude." It's unlikely for Jinyoung to say these things mainly because he likes to be the one on the other side. He waits and waits but Kris only gives him a smile.

 

"You really don't have to do it. I'm glad that I helped you, but you don't have to pay for it." He says waving a dismissing hand in front of him. "Goodbye, Jinyoung. Take care." And then he turns around again and walks until he reaches his car.

 

Jinyoung watches the car leave and sighs when it's out of sight. Then, he turns around and walks to the other side. "What? Did your destiny got away?" Jaebum then appears, his hands both in his pockets and he has a curious look on his face. Jinyoung looks up at him and groans.

 

"Yes, he did." He replies and groans again. "You know what, that was mean of you to ditch me like that." Jaebum states, but instead of apologizing, Jinyoung glares at him. He rolls his eyes as he breathes in hard.

 

"You're really a bad luck, you know. And you know what, why don't we just end this? All you're giving me is headaches." He grimaces at Jaebum as he sends him annoyed looks. "Why did I even take you as my boyfriend? We should break up." By now, Jinyoung is expecting the younger for his rebuttal.

 

Jaebum's a tactless guy who doesn't have a brain to mouth filter. But Jaebum isn't talking at all, isn't firing back at all, he's just moving his head side to side with a small smile on his face. "What? You're creepy." Jinyoung asks and the only reply he receives is Jaebum looking at his back.

 

Ever annoyed Jinyoung halfheartedly turns to his back and sees the horror of his life. Kris is holding out a small rectangular paper, but he has his jaws clenched and his eyes fixed on Jaebum. "I should not have interrupted you

 

"I told you, we know each other." Jaebum replies, giving Kris a smirk. Jinyoung looks back at Jaebum and mouths, 'what the fuck?' but before he can come up with an explanation to Kris; the guy has already turned his back on him. 'Noooooooooo.' Jinyoung thinks as he tries to reach for Kris' calling card, but he is too late.

 

So, he turns around with a scowl on his face. "Ugh!" Then, he hits Jaebum's shoulder with his shoulder bag. "I hate you!" He yells before he storms off, but Jaebum remains on his spot with the same smirk on his face.

 

Jinyoung continues to walk towards the train station. It's nice that it's Friday, he can come home to his mother's house. And maybe spend the weekend there too. And as soon as he stands in the waiting area, an old and drunk man walks up to him.

 

"You! What do you think you're doing? Aren't you supposed to be home by now?" The man says drunkenly, he can't even stand properly. "What are you saying?" Jinyoung asks unknowingly as he stares at the old man who obviously grew angrier.

 

"You! You stupid-" "Stop it." Then, Jaebum appears again, holding the man's arm. "What- why-" "I said stop it." Jaebum repeats, he keeps his glare on him until the old man leaves them. But when he turns around he has a bright smile on his face.

 

"What are you doing here?" Jinyoung asks, looking at Jaebum disbelievingly. "Are you following me?" He asks again, squinting at Jaebum, but the younger only laughs at him. And then, the train comes, Jaebum turns around and heads to the train. It is only when Jaebum is finally inside when he realized something.

 

Something like this happened before. He can remember it clearly, eight years ago, on his first day at Waves. It was even the same drunken man, but he couldn't quite remember the man who somewhat saved him. He was wearing a cap and it was covering half of his face.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

\--

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday comes and goes, sure it's not Jinyoung's favorite day, but he has to go through it. He has to stay alive and live. But he isn't expecting to see his destiny that got away walking inside his company building. He's with four other men and they're heading to the director's office.

 

When Kris passes by him, he smiles and lifts his palm, but the other pretends not to see him at all. "Jinwoo-sshi!" Jinyoung runs to his colleague who is carrying a tray of coffee. "Oh my! Jinyoung-sshi, you startled me." The shorter replies, balancing the cups on the tray.

 

"What is he doing here?" Jinyoung asks, pointing towards Kris' direction. Jinwoo slowly turns to him and breaks into a smile. "Oh. Kris Wu? He's Nikon Korea's new CEO and they will be our business partner." as soon as he finishes his explanation, Jinwoo bids him goodbye and walks towards their office.

 

Then, all of a sudden, he sees Joonmyeon running frantically towards him. "Jinyoung-sshi!!!" He yells few meters away from him and once he reaches Jinyoung, he clutches in his arms. "There's a commotion in the makeup station!!!" He says breathlessly.

 

Jinyoung and Joonmyeon rush back to the makeup station and they see people yelling at each other. Jinyoung also sees Mark on his seat, his eyes are closed and he's covering his ears. "Excuse me? San we all please tone this down?" Jinyoung tries, but no one paid him attention.

 

"Excuse me?" He tries again, and someone actually turned to him. But he isn't expecting the person to run towards him like she's about to slap him. Fortunately, before the woman can do so, Jackson barges in and stops her. Jinyoung yells again, but still, no one paid attention to him.

 

He tries to look around, thinking of a solution to calm the people down. And when he sees the vase beside him, he wasted no time and throws it onto the ground. "Will everyone shut the hell up!?" he yells as soon as the people hear the crashing sound.

 

"In case you've forgotten, this is an office! And you are not allowed to do these things here. If you don't want me to call the police for what you did, you can help yourself and find the way out of this building." Everyone, except the employees, albeit unwillingly, walks out of the room.

 

When he looks around, he sees Mark clutching to himself. He slowly makes his way to him, resting his palm on his shoulder, but the guy got startled. "They're gone now, Mark-sshi." He says in a comforting voice, but Mark ignores him and abruptly leaves the room.

 

He also sees Jackson watching Mark leave with a dejected expression, but he did not try to follow him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's just the start of the week but a lot of things are happening already. First, he suddenly sees Kris in his office, but he got ignored. Next, the people who are complaining against Mark made a commotion in their building. Now, he's sitting inside a room with Kris.

 

He really can't help it. He can't help but watch him. His serious expression makes him look ten times hotter. Like he's oozing with such flaming charisma. And then, Kris glances at him, he tries to smile but Kris ignores him again. "Jinyoung-sshi?" Kris says after sighing. Jinyoung jerks up and looks at Kris, wide-eyed.

 

"If you can't focus on the meeting, why are you even here?" He asks coldly, definitely not like how they first met. "Eh?" Jinyoung manages to make up because everyone's eyes are on him. "You've been staring at my face ever since the meeting started. If you're going to be like that, I don't think you deserve your position. You're slacking too much."

 

That's when Jinyoung knows it's enough. He has been here for eight years, he might be a disaster magnet, but he never slacked in his job. And who does Kris think he is? He may be Jinyoung's destiny, but no, he is not allowed to belittle him like that. But before Jinyoung can even come up with an explanation, Kris has turned his head away from him already.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

\--

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Mark?" Jackson knocks on Mark's door, but he receives no reply. "Mark?" He tries again, louder this time. "Mark, let's talk." But he is still not getting any replies. "Mark, if you don't open this, I will break in." He says as a warning and after a whole minute of no reply, he twists in the knob.

 

Jackson's eyes grow wide and suddenly his heart starts beating unevenly. The door is unlocked which is very unlikely for Mark. He opens the door and walks in carefully. "Mark?" He calls, but no one answers him. "Mark Yien Tuan?" He calls again as he walks in deeper into the house.

 

He goes to his bedroom and sees no one. He heads to the kitchen and still sees no one. When he's about to dial Mark's number, he sees the bathroom door ajar. Slowly, he makes his way there and pushes the door. And there on the floor is a lifeless Mark. "Mark!" Jackson yells, kneeling down to pick up Mark on the floor.

 

Jackson gently taps his cheeks and shakes him. "Mark wake up!" he tries again and fortunately, this time, Mark opens his eyes. "Jackson." He says weakly and then he closes his eyes again. "What happened to you?" Jackson asks and carries Mark into his bedroom.

 

"You're too warm; I think you have a fever." Jackson states after wiping Mark's face with the towel he saw on Mark's bed. Mark sighs with the contact, but he keeps quiet and avoids talking. "Are you hungry?" He asks and this time, Mark nods with his eyes closed.

 

Jackson smiles at it but eventually frowns. He doesn't know how to cook. So he does what he thinks is the best. After wiping Mark's face again, he leaves the room after, texting his friend.

 

 

 

 

 

It is twenty minutes later when Jinyoung comes in. He's breathless and dead tired from rushing. "How's he?" Jinyoung asks, peaking at Mark's room. "He's better now than how he was earlier." Jackson replies quietly, not really wanting to disturb Mark.

 

"My friend." Jackson then looks at him seriously. "Help me cook something for him." It's almost funny for Jinyoung to see how distressed Jackson is. The creases on his forehead multiply each time he talks about Mark. And whenever Jackson looks at Mark, Jinyoung can't help but notice the warm looks he is giving him.

 

"Sure, my friend." Jinyoung replies as he taps Jackson's shoulders. When the latter finally smiles, he heads to the kitchen and opens the fridge. But tada! Here comes nothing. Even in Mark's cabinets, there was no food at all.

 

While checking the fridge again, something popped up in his mind. He takes his phone from his pocket and dials the number of the person who can help them. "Hello, Jaebum-ah. I need you to buy me a couple of things; I will pay when you get here. I'll also send you the address later." Then, he goes on telling the younger what to buy.

 

 

 

 

 

Another twenty minutes passed by with Jackson wiping Mark's sweat from time to time and with Jinyoung watching them. But unlike before, this time, it's with pure adoration. Seeing Jackson worked up like this all because of Mark warms his heart. Then, as he continues watching them, the doorbell rings.

 

Earlier, he had asked Jaebum to buy the ingredients for a kimchi soup. "What took you so long?" Jackson quietly says as soon as soon as he sees Jaebum walking into the house. "Well, it's not like I have these things ready." Jaebum replies nonchalantly, placing the plastic bags on the kitchen table.

 

Jackson immediately sushes him as he urges Jinyoung to start cooking. But when Jinyoung opened the kimchi pack, Jackson whines about the smell. "Go and open the window." He tells Jaebum, so being the youngest; Jaebum has no choice but to obey.

 

But as soon as he did, Mark makes a noise and says, "It is cold." Jackson then turns to the younger and says, "Close it!" So Jaebum closes it again, and Jackson forces himself to ignore the smell as much as he can. "What's next?" Jinyoung suddenly asks after washing the rice. "What do you mean what's next?" Jackson asks back, walking up to his side.

 

Jaebum peaks in too, "Measure the water." He says a little later, showing Jinyoung how much water he should put through his hands. Jinyoung's forehead creases and asks, "What?" It's not because he doesn't know how to cook rice, he can okay, but soup is different.

 

Then Mark whines again. "Noisy." He says so Jackson hits Jaebum and Jinyoung's shoulders. "Keep quiet!" It is minutes later with a messy kitchen and burnt fingers when they finished cooking. Jinyoung carefully brings the bowl of soup towards Mark's bed and guides the latter to eat it.

 

"So, how is it?" Jinyoung asks after Mark's first spoon. Mark eats another spoon and stays quiet before he breaks into a comfortable expression. "It is good." he says and the trio can't help but cheer for their successful mission.

 

"Water." Mark says after the fifth spoon, making Jinyoung throw a look at Jackson. "Oh, okay. Wait." So Jackson stands up and takes the water bottle from the kitchen, he opens and hands it to Mark. After few gulps, he goes back to eating. Jinyoung then stands up, smiling as he watches Mark eating the soup he made.

 

"We should leave now." He tells him and Mark nods at him without looking. "Thank you." He says quietly that Jinyoung almost missed it. "You're welcome and get well soon." He replies, grinning at Mark while the latter turns to look at him. "We need you at waves."

 

Mark gives him a tight-lipped and tired smile. Jaebum stands up too and bows to him. "I'm Jaebum if you still remember me. And please get well soon." He says as he walks towards Jinyoung's side. Mark nods at them then Jackson stands up too.

 

"I guess, I'll go with them." Jackson says and Jinyoung gives him a curious look. "Water." Mark speaks again, not looking at Jackson. The latter takes the water earlier and hands it to Mark. "Warm water." Mark replies and finally looks into his eyes.

 

 

 

And that's when Jinyoung pulled Jaebum out of the house. It's already dark outside when they got into the parking lot. But Jinyoung still has this warm smile on his face, like he's stuck in a dreamy thought. He doesn't notice it, but Jaebum has been watching him with a small smile.

 

Then, he sighs and looks up to the purple sky. "You know, sometimes I can't help but wonder how it would feel to have someone by my side." He starts and he has the look in his eyes that is so beautiful in Jaebum's opinion.

 

"To have someone to take care of me when I'm sick." He continues and then he looks back to Jaebum. "It would probably feel so good. I am already old, but I haven't found my destiny yet. I wonder if there's something wrong with me." he ends with his voice getting weaker. Instead of a mocking reply, Jaebum walks up to him and hugs him.

 

"This is a special service so you don't have to pay." He whispers to him as he tightens the hug. "You're not old, Jinyoung-sshi. You still have a lot of time, so don't go rushing. And there's nothing wrong with you, so don't ever think like that."

 

Like his hug, Jaebum's voice is warm and comforting. Jinyoung is starting to think that if this is the hug that he will get every seventy-five dollars, he wouldn't mind it. Then, just as Jinyoung is about to hug Jaebum tighter, the latter pulls away. "Your destiny will come and find you, for the mean time all you have to do is wait for him."

 

Jinyoung sees the sincerity in his eyes and he can't deny it. So, he smiles back at Jaebum, nodding his head softly. "Oh, before I forget it." Jinyoung says, fishing the car keys in his pocket. "Some kid, probably, poke my car tires, hence, it is flat." Jinyoung motions to the car beside Jaebum.

 

The latter looks down to it, analyzing the tire. It seems like someone used a knife to flatten it. "I'll pay once you get it fixed." He says handing the keys to Jaebum. The younger smiles as he takes the keys from Jinyoung.  "Bye." Then the older turns around and leaves Jaebum who is still watching him.

 

But something catches Jaebum's eyes, as soon as Jinyoung leaves the car beside Jinyoung's leaves too. Another thing that he noticed is the ring of the person driving. A huge star on his ring.

**Author's Note:**

> AN: Hello! I'm back with a new chaptered fic! Please leave comments and tell me your thoughts about it. Also, please don't forget to upvote! Thank you! <3 <3 <3


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